Topped with a heavenly brown sugar cream cheese frosting, these moist Carrot Cake cupcakes have just the right amount of spice, and will be perfect for any Spring or Easter celebrations!
I’m a firm believer that cream cheese frosting is the perfect companion for nearly any and all cake recipes. See for yourself when you try my Zucchini Cake, Pumpkin Cake, or even Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes!
the best CArrot Cupcakes
Carrot Cake is one of those desserts that I don’t make very often – definitely for Easter, and sometimes for random occasions. But every time I do, I remember how much I love it. Talk about a tasty way to get your daily dose of vegetables! 😉
This time around, I opted for making cupcakes instead of an entire cake. They were fun to serve, and even more fun to eat!
These delightful cupcakes are moist and delicious, with just the right amount of spice. And the consistency is the perfect happy medium between dense and fluffy. Top it all off with some homemade brown sugar frosting, and you’ve got yourself one tasty treat!
One thing to remember is that carrot cake doesn’t really taste like carrots, but they add the perfect flavor combined with all the spices in this dessert.
How to Make carrot cake cupcakes
These cupcakes are so easy to make and will be the perfect addition to your Spring and Easter celebrations. They’re also great for feeding a crowd.
BATTER. Begin by whisking together flour, soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl, and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat sugar, eggs, and oil till thick and foamy, about 1-2 minutes. Add the sour cream, vanilla, and carrots and mix well. Add the dry ingredients and stir till just blended.
BAKE. Fill paper lined cupcake pans half full. Bake at 350° for 18-20 minutes. Cool completely.
Tip: Don’t overfill the cupcake liners. They should be about 2/3 full. The cupcakes do not rise too much, and that is just fine. It’s easier to frost them that way!
Want bite-sized carrot cake cupcakes? Simply follow the recipe exactly and fill the mini muffin liners (in a mini muffin tin) halfway. This will likely be about 2 Tbsp of batter for each mini cupcake. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes.
Brown Sugar Frosting
Have you ever tried making brown sugar cream cheese frosting? It literally is the icing on the cake – or cupcake for this recipe. 😉
Let me tell you, this is not your typical cream cheese frosting recipe. Brown sugar + cream cheese adds a rich depth of flavor to the frosting. It was so yummy that I was tempted to eat it by the spoonful.
MAKING. beat together cream cheese, butter, and brown sugar till smooth. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes until the brown sugar dissolves completely. Add vanilla, salt, and enough powdered sugar to make a frosting thick enough to pipe.
FROSTING. To frost these cupcakes, we used a large star tip to pipe on the frosting, but you can use whatever frosting method you prefer. If you’re planning on spreading the frosting on, you can cut the recipe in half and still have more than enough.
cupcake Add-ins
ADD-INS: Some popular items to add to carrot cake include walnuts, pecans, and raisins. You can add any of those things to the batter before baking (between ½ and 1 cup of add-ins total), or add the chopped nuts to the top of the frosting!
For those of you who like pineapple in your carrot cake, try reducing your grated carrots to 1 cup and then adding in 1 cup of crushed pineapple (drained). It might produce a little bit different of a consistency because there will be more moisture.
Storing Tips
STORING: If you already put frosting on the cupcakes, they can’t sit out at room temp for long, otherwise the cream cheese in the frosting will go bad. Preferably, store them in the fridge in an airtight container.
If you are waiting to frost them, you can store the plain cupcakes at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Carrot is one of the best cakes (or cupcakes) when it comes to freezing. It will hold up really well in the freezer. It’s best to freeze them before they have been frosted, but cream cheese frosting freezes well too, so it’s not a problem if they are frosted.
Either way, simply put the cupcakes in an airtight container or heavy duty freezer bag (taking care to not smash any frosting), and store in the freezer 4-6 months.
I hope you’ll give these cupcakes a try. They might just become a new favorite after one bite!
For more great Easter DESSERTS:
For more cupcake recipes, try:
- Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes
- Cookies and Cream Cupcakes
- Peanut Butter Cupcakes
- Banana Cupcakes
- Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes
Carrot Cake Cupcake Recipe
Ingredients
Cupcakes:
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ + 1/8 tsp baking soda
- ½ + 1/8 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups finely grated carrots
Frosting:
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- dash salt
- 3 cups powdered sugar (more or less, if needed)
Instructions
- Whisk together flour, soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat sugar, eggs, and oil till thick and foamy, 1-2 minutes. Add the sour cream, vanilla, and carrots and mix well. Add the dry ingredients and stir till just blended.
- Fill paper lined cupcake pans half full. Bake at 350° for 18-20 minutes. Cool completely.
- For frosting, beat together cream cheese, butter, and brown sugar till smooth. Let sit for 5-10 minutes till brown sugar dissolves completely. Add vanilla, salt, and enough powdered sugar to make a frosting thick enough to pipe. Use a large star tip to frost cupcakes.
Video
Notes
I’m dying over that Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting!! Seriously, that looks like a total dream. Thanks for sharing with us, Kara! These look amazing. For more delicious recipes by her, head on over to Creations by Kara!
Love this recipe! But i just cannot seem to get my frosting thick iM not sure what i am doing wrong i follow the recupe exactly. The cake is wonderful. All in all so tasty!!
To thicken, you can always add more powdered sugar 🙂
Best Carot Cake recipe!!! The icing, as well, is to die for! Thank you for sharing!
You are so welcome! Thanks for sharing that!
These were perfectly delicious! They might be the best thing I ever made. Thank you! YUM!
Awe, I am so glad!! I am happy to share my favorites 🙂 Thank you!
Love these!! They are so soft!
The brown sugar frosting is delicious paired with the carroty cupcake
Alot of our desserts center around chocolate but these carrot cake cupcakes are so good and my father in law loves them!
Best cupcakes ive ever made. The whole family loves them. I did 2 cups of carrots and i pUt less sugar in the frosting and it turned out great. perfect for eaSter!
Sounds perfect! Thank you for saying that!
These cupcakes are hands down delicious! Easy enough to make when you Don’t have a lot of time. I followed the recipe But reduced the carrots by 1/2 cUp and added one 8 oz can of crushed pineapple. They came out perfect. Moist but not soggy. And the frOsting, Holy moly delicious. I am obsessed wirh this FROSTING! Thank-you for sharing this wonderful recipe!
So glad to share 🙂 Happy you liked them! Thank you for sharing what you did!
these are aWesome. Very moist and just plain yummy. Love the brown sugar crEam cheese icing. May need to try that in my pumpkin Roll. EvEryone loved These. I did add in raisins. Soooo good. Making another batch tomorrow!!
Yay!! I am so glad to know 🙂 Thank you for letting me know!
I made these for Easter this year and they were delicious! Perfectly moist and fluffy, i plan on making them again next year!
We love these! I am so glad you liked them, too! Thank you for letting me know!
These are HANDS DOWN THE BEST CARROT CAKE CUPCAKES I’VE EVER MADE/had. Everyone i’Ve shared these with literally begS me to make them again. Trust me when i say, you have to try these amazing cupcakes!! Thank you lil luna fOr sharing Your recipE with all of us. Aloha
Awe, thank you so much for sharing that! I am so glad to share 🙂 I love hearing they are a hit!
The best carrot cake cupcakes ever. I added 1/2 cup of walnuts for a bit of texture. The brown sugar cream cheese buttercream is amazing too. This will be my go-to recipe from mow on!
Yay!! So happy to hear that! Thank you!
We LOVE these Cupcakes! I want to turn them into a cake. What should i change?
I double the recipe and just split it between 2 round cake pans (I like to add a frosting layer in the middle). Alternatively, you can leave it as is and just use a smaller cake pan.
Really light, moist cupcake. Used greeK yoghurt instead of sour cream. Made half the suggested frosting which was plenty when piped. Defi a keeper
Glad it’s a keeper!! Thank you for sharing that!
Making these today for my friends birthday 🥳 Can’t wait to see how they turn out! The frosting sounds awesome. Thanks for sharing!
Glad to share 🙂 I hope she liked them! Thank you!
Very delicious and easy to make. Thanks for this great recipe, it’s a real crowd-pleaser!
You are so welcome! I am glad you think so 🙂 Thank you!
My favorite cupcakes! can I double the recipe?
Yes, you totally can 🙂 Glad you like them! Thank you!
These are the worlds best cupcakes, I’ve made them at least 2 times a year for years now, thank you so much for sharing!
Thank you so much for trying them! I’m so glad you love them!
Best carrot cake cupcakes ever! I wanted to find a recipe that did not include nuts but did include sour cream in the batter, so I was happy to find this one. Once baked, the batter came out really light and fluffy with just the right amount of cinnamon flavor! The cream cheese frosting was the best I have ever tasted, possibly due to the brown sugar!!! I’m going to make these again, but with multi-colored carrots from the farmer’s market!
Oh how fun to use multicolored carrots!!! So happy that you discovered the recipe. Thanks for giving it a try!
One word Delicious
Thank you!! So glad you liked the cupcakes!